Lake Kussharo Tsuruga Auberge · SoRa — Hotel in Teshikaga

We arrived at Sora not knowing what to expect. I unloaded the bags, ably assisted by the hotel staff. After parking my car in the lots provided, I walked through the double doors and into a high ceilinged main living and bar area. My wife was going through the check-in formalities and I had a quick look around. ||Sora is built like a Canadian log lodge. There are only two good sized rooms. The lodge houses a restaurant downstairs with a fully equipped open kitchen. The restaurant is popular with the Lunch crowd. It serves modern French with local produce.||Food in the lodge is exceptional. On top of our board, we ate here for breakfast and dinner. Both meals were multi-course meals. One would think that dinner would be small servings but don’t let the servings deceive you. By the end of our 7-8 courses, we were very full.||Breakfast was also 5-6 courses. Set aside a hour to be fully stuffed. ||On the ground floor on the opposite end of the restaurant is the other guest room. ||Room|Our room was on the second floor, up a narrow staircase. Wall decal art strategically placed adds a whimsical element to an otherwise boring wall. Our room had a large sitting area, and two single beds. ||The sitting area is large and comfortable, and has a flat screen TV for entertainment. Local TV stations only though. WiFi can be received in the room.||A coffee machine is provided and you can tailor how strong your coffee can be. Fridge is hidden in this low cupboard too, with the drinks contained chargeable. A small sink for washing up is thoughtfully built in here.||In this area, there’s also a closet with a safe that we could not work out how to use. The instructions are also only in Japanese. ||An old writing table and chair, with some fancy paper, old-style fountain pen and ink bottle, is also placed here. Our Son had fun with that. ||A side door leads to a private balcony. There’s a table and two chairs if you want to hang out there.||There’s also another bedroom with two super single beds joined together. An old writing desk and chair sits by the opposite wall. The room is in the attic, thus the slanted roof and alcove windows. There are charging points on the bedside table and wall horns for hanging your clothes. Although the lodge is 100m off the main road, we did not hear any vehicle noises. The rooms face a large field and greenery. ||There’s no air con. Some windows open to allow air into the room. There is an air blower in the living room and bedroom. We found that the curtains were thin and let in the light. The side door and roof window also did not have any curtains. Note that the sun rises at 3.48am in summer.||Bathroom|There’s a Large bathtub and a Japanese onsen-style shower area; one can also stand to shower. There are two shower head holders at sitting and standing height. Bathroom is finished by good brand ceramics. ||A separate toilet area keeps out the smells from the bathroom. The sink area has with lots of amenities. There’s heater blowers built in for cold winter days. A ladder nearby allows us to dry our towels. ||The Staff is on the ball. They are very friendly. One of the staff, a really sweet lady, gave me iced tea when she saw that I was exercising outside. Although limited English is spoken by team, they do do their best.||We had a great two nights here, even without our creature comfort - air con! The food was exceptional, the staff warm and friendly, and the room were really large and confortable. This lodge is a great place to just chill and hang out. Highly...

We arrived at Sora not knowing what to expect. I unloaded the bags, ably assisted by the hotel staff. After parking my car in the lots provided, I walked through the double doors and into a high ceilinged main living and bar area. My wife was going through the check-in formalities and I had a quick look around. ||Sora is built like a Canadian log lodge. There are only two good sized rooms. The lodge houses a restaurant downstairs with a fully equipped open kitchen. The restaurant is popular with the Lunch crowd. It serves modern French with local produce.||Food in the lodge is exceptional. On top of our board, we ate here for breakfast and dinner. Both meals were multi-course meals. One would think that dinner would be small servings but don’t let the servings deceive you. By the end of our 7-8 courses, we were very full.||Breakfast was also 5-6 courses. Set aside a hour to be fully stuffed. ||On the ground floor on the opposite end of the restaurant is the other guest room. ||Room|Our room was on the second floor, up a narrow staircase. Wall decal art strategically placed adds a whimsical element to an otherwise boring wall. Our room had a large sitting area, and two single beds. ||The sitting area is large and comfortable, and has a flat screen TV for entertainment. Local TV stations only though. WiFi can be received in the room.||A coffee machine is provided and you can tailor how strong your coffee can be. Fridge is hidden in this low cupboard too, with the drinks contained chargeable. A small sink for washing up is thoughtfully built in here.||In this area, there’s also a closet with a safe that we could not work out how to use. The instructions are also only in Japanese. ||An old writing table and chair, with some fancy paper, old-style fountain pen and ink bottle, is also placed here. Our Son had fun with that. ||A side door leads to a private balcony. There’s a table and two chairs if you want to hang out there.||There’s also another bedroom with two super single beds joined together. An old writing desk and chair sits by the opposite wall. The room is in the attic, thus the slanted roof and alcove windows. There are charging points on the bedside table and wall horns for hanging your clothes. Although the lodge is 100m off the main road, we did not hear any vehicle noises. The rooms face a large field and greenery. ||There’s no air con. Some windows open to allow air into the room. There is an air blower in the living room and bedroom. We found that the curtains were thin and let in the light. The side door and roof window also did not have any curtains. Note that the sun rises at 3.48am in summer.||Bathroom|There’s a Large bathtub and a Japanese onsen-style shower area; one can also stand to shower. There are two shower head holders at sitting and standing height. Bathroom is finished by good brand ceramics. ||A separate toilet area keeps out the smells from the bathroom. The sink area has with lots of amenities. There’s heater blowers built in for cold winter days. A ladder nearby allows us to dry our towels. ||The Staff is on the ball. They are very friendly. One of the staff, a really sweet lady, gave me iced tea when she saw that I was exercising outside. Although limited English is spoken by team, they do do their best.||We had a great two nights here, even without our creature comfort - air con! The food was exceptional, the staff warm and friendly, and the room were really large and confortable. This lodge is a great place to just chill and hang out. Highly...

A very good, if pricey, 8-course dinner experience. Impeccable service, flawless plating, charming interior.

This place is a fine dining concept restaurant and like any fine dining concept restaurant, it is not meant for children. Therefore, if you want to dine here, your party should be adults-only. Reservations are required for dinner. Once you reserve, no cancellations are entertained as they cook exactly for the number of dinner guests.

While the 8-course dinner menu was somewhat limited in options, this restaurant went very far out of its way to arrange for a chicken dish to replace the default meat option for one of our party who is unfortunately a picky eater who doesn't eat duck, pork or beef, so their customer service is stellar.

Again, parties with children should look elsewhere, please - this is a fine dining restaurant and the serene ambience should not be negatively impacted by screaming, fussy or unruly kids; Giving this excellent establishment a negative rating because their policy is not to admit kids simply reflects badly on the poster.

Note : Everyone who posts a food review for this eating place will have their own taste preferences. Good or bad is subjective depending on each person's taste buds as i might dislike what you like and vice-versa. So both high and low rating reviews given by everyone posting their own review here are subjective and are not assurances that the food in this place will be to your liking. That said, if your taste buds are like mine, you will like/hate accordingly and give the same type of review...